MP welcomes the formation of Development Corporation

LAGAN Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson has welcomed the announcement of
the new Maze/ Long Kesh Development Corporation Development Corporation
and has assured his constituents that the planned Peace Centre at the
former prison will not be a shrine to terrorism.

"I am delighted the new development corporation has now been
appointed and I have already had an initial meeting with the new
Chairman, Terence Brannigan, and am planning further more substantive
discussions in the near future," said Mr Donaldson.

"I am also pleased we have three local people appointed onto the
committee, including my colleague Councillor Paul Stewart, local
businessman Ken Cleland and former Assistant Chief Constable Duncan
McCausland.

"I think Duncan's appointment is particularly significant because of
all the propaganda that has been spread about there being a shrine at
the Maze.

"The very idea that someone like Duncan, who served throughout the
Troubles and lost many comrades as a result, would countenance an IRA
shrine is just a nonsense and I am confident that, together with the
veto we have at Stormont and the make up of the Corporation, the
development of the Maze will be a positive one in terms of moving
forward.

"It will generate a lot of employment for the local community,"
continued Mr Donaldson. We will have the RUAS on site with a show
planned for next year and there has been significant interest in terms
of commercial investment on the site, which will lead to further job
creation.

"I believe the Corporation will be looking at providing sporting and
entertainment at the Maze and of course there is the new Peace Centre.

As the local MP I want to make it absolutely clear that the Peace
Centre is going to be located in a purpose built new building and not in
the retained buildings," said Mr Donaldson. "The purpose of the centre
will be to promote reconciliation and it most certainly will not be
about in anyway glorifying terrorism.

It will be about learning from mistakes made in the past so that we
don't repeat those mistakes in the future.

"I will be very closely involved in the development of the site as it
moves forward and I give this commitment to the people I represent - I
will do everything I can, along with the Corporation, to ensure the
community gets maximum benefit from this major infrastructure project
and there is no question of an IRA shrine being created on the site," he
concluded.

New Chairman is passionate about development project

The new Chairman of the Maze/Long Kesh Development Terence Brannigan
with architect Daniel Libeskind

THE newly appointed Chairman of the Maze/ Long Kesh Development
Corporation, Mr Terence Brannigan, is passionate about the redevelopment
of the former prison site.

Speaking following his appointment this week, Mr Brannigan said there
was great opportunity at the site for the whole community.

"I did passionately want to be involved and I was thrilled to be
given this opportunity," he said. 'At first I had the same
preconceptions about the site that most people have and all I thought
about was the prison. However, when I came to visit the site I suddenly
remembered having been here as a child to go gliding. It has a long
history, as an airfield during the war, as a meteorological centre and
much more that we want to remember. It has a rich and varied history and
there are some great stories to be told."

Mr Brannigan pointed out that the new Peace Centre, which has caused
controversy, will only comprise 8% of the total 347 acre site and he is
keen to hear from the local community about how the rest of the site
should be utilised.

"There is such an opportunity to deliver a range of very positive
things for this site," he said. We have to deliver prosperity and jobs
for the whole of this region but we must do that in conjunction with the
people of this community.

"We need to ensure we develop strong partnerships with Lisburn City
Council and with the community in order that what is developed here fits
and the people get value from it. As we progress we have got to keep
talking, and more importantly listening, to the city council and the
community"

Mr Brannigan said there were a range of options for the site,
including the development of an agri-foods sector, as well as the
provision of significant community space at the front of the site.
He added that a series of events would be held at the site in the coming
months and years to encourage the wider community to make use of the
area.

"We are looking at a number of events to bring life and vibrancy to
the site and to change peoples perception of what the site does," he
concluded.

Prison site to be transformed

First Minister Peter Robinson, Deputy First Minister Martin
McGuinness and Chairman of the Maze/Long Kesh Development Committee
Terence Brannigan

FOLLOWING the appointment of Terence Brannigan as the new Chairman of
the Maze/Long Kesh Development Corporation, the First Minister, Peter
Robinson said the former prison site will be transformed.

He said: "The Development Corporation, under the leadership of Mr
Brannigan, will be tasked to maximise the economic development potential
of this valuable regeneration site. Challenges lie ahead particularly
given the economic climate we now find ourselves in, but it is
imperative we grasp rare opportunities such as the regeneration of Maze/
Long Kesh to aid growth and promote prosperity.

"I am confident that the experience and skills mix of the Board
members will help transform the site," he added.

The Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness said everyone was
committed to the redevelopment of the site.

"We are committed to maximising the economic, historical and
reconciliation potential of the site for the benefit of all sections of
our community 'here and further afield," he said.

"In recent months it was pleasing to see the relocation of the RUAS
to the site and the award of EU funding to help build a Peace Building
and Conflict Resolution Centre on the site.

"As plans progress, the regeneration of the former prison site will
send out a powerful, physical signal highlighting how society here has
been transformed and regenerated is moving beyond conflict," concluded
Mr McGuinness.

Councillor pleased to be appointed to Maze Board

LISBURN City Councillor Paul Stewart has been appointed to the newly
formed Maze/ Long Kesh Development Corporation.

Mr Stewart, who also serves as the Vice Chairman of Lisburn City
Council's Planning Committee, is one of three local men to be appointed
to the Board, which will oversee the regeneration of the former prison
site.

Local businessman Ken Cleland, who is behind a plan to bring a luxury
hotel to Lisburn, and former Assistant Chief Constable Duncan McCausland
have also been appointed to the Board.

Mr Stewart said he was pleased to have been appointed.

"I am pleased to have been appointed by the First Minister Peter
Robinson and Deputy
First Minister Martin McGuinness to the Maze/ Long Kesh Development
Corporation," said Mr
Stewart.

"There is an excellent opportunity to create am maximise the full
economic potential of this regeneration site. There will be challenges,
for the Corporation in this current economic time, however we all must
grasp the opportunities such a the regeneration of the sit and therefore
aid growth am prosperity within our city" and indeed for the whole o
Northern Ireland.

"I have no doubt that this regeneration of the site will create
thousands of jobs an bring much need economic growth to Northern
Ireland.

I want to clearly point out that there will be no shrine at the Maze
and indeed the First Minister and Deputy First Minister have clearly
said there would be no shrine at this site," he concluded.